This invention relates generally to poultry processing apparatus and more particularly to poultry processing apparatus using helically toothed rolls to separate poultry parts.
It is common practice in the poultry processing industry to separate poultry parts using toothed rolls which have helically extending teeth therearound where the teeth on the two rolls drivingly intermesh to grip one portion of the poultry part therebetween and strip it from the other portion of the poultry part. One of the most common uses of such processing rolls is to remove the lining from the edible portion of the gizzard to produce an edible product. Another common use is to remove the stomach and intestine from the gizzard for further processing. Another common use is to remove the skin from a poultry part. Still another use is to remove the lungs and membranes from the heart.
All of the present processing roll assemblies suffer a common problem. This problem is the buildup of material around the rolls at the discharge end thereof which in turn causes high stressing of the rolls. The result of this increased stress is the premature failure of the roll itself, the increased wear on the bearings to reduce bearing life, and the overloading of the roll drive system. Thus, there is a need to prevent the buildup of the material around the discharge end of the rolls.